Firefighters in California are battling blazes in challenging conditions after several wildfires broke out over the weekend, forcing evacuations and consuming thousands of acres of land.
Los Angeles county is dealing with its first major wildfire of the year after a blaze dubbed the Post fire swiftly grew to more than 14,600 acres (5,900 hectares). The fire, which broke out on Saturday, is burning through the mountains along the major Interstate 5 highway, fueled by strong winds that are pushing the flames through dry brush.
Firefighters managed to gain ground against the flames on Monday, increasing containment of the fire to 8%.
Fire officials said that teams have been hampered in recent days by sweltering conditions and steep terrain as unpredictable winds blew embers ahead of the flames. The gusts have also made efforts by aircraft crews to drop water and fire retardant more difficult, according to Kenichi Haskett, a section chief for the LA county fire department.
“When it’s windy, it just sprays the water everywhere we don’t need it. So that’s a challenge,” Haskett said.
Firefighters hoped to hold the fire at its current size, but further growth was still possible, especially towards the south, Haskett said. “That 8% is good because it means we are increasing and bolstering our containment lines,” the section chief said on Monday.
The fire forced the evacuation of at least 1,200 campers, off-roaders and hikers from the Hungry Valley recreation area over the weekend, and officials have warned residents in the wildfire’s path to be prepared to leave if it explodes in size again.
The massive columns of smoke that marked the fire’s initial rampage were gone by Monday morning. But Sunday’s smoke drifted some 225 miles (360km) north-west across the Mojave desert to cast a slight haze in the Las Vegas area. Nevada air quality officials issued an alert advising children, older adults and people with respiratory and heart disease to stay indoors.
About 75 miles to the east, another fire, dubbed the Hesperia fire, in San Bernardino county has grown to more than 445 hectares (1,100 acres). The fire, which forced road closures and prompted evacuation warnings over the weekend, was 30% contained on Monday morning.
Meanwhile in northern California, a small wildfire has also prompted evacuation orders and warnings for a sparsely populated area near Lake Sonoma. The so-called Point fire ignited on Sunday, sending up a huge plume of dark smoke as it churned through brush and timber about 80 miles (130km) north of San Francisco. As of Monday morning the fire has consumed more than 1,000 acres and was 20% contained.
The three blazes are among nearly a dozen wildfires actively burning in the state, though most remain small, according to incident reports from Cal Fire, the state’s wildfire agency. Experts have warned that the US west could face a highly active wildfire season, due to high summer temperatures and a wet winter that fueled the growth of grasses that are now rapidly drying out, providing a ready spark for flames.
The Post fire erupted on Saturday afternoon near the small town of Gorman, located about 60 miles (100km) north-west of Los Angeles. Two structures burned within the evacuated recreation area.
Flames were moving toward Pyramid Lake, a popular destination for boaters that was closed as a precaution on Father’s Day. No houses were threatened but officials warned residents of Castaic, home to about 19,000 people, that they should prepare to leave if the fire pushes further south.
“If you’re in a warning area, be prepared with a ‘go bag’, with overnight clothes and your cellphone, your medicines, your glasses. Have your car fueled up,” said Haskett. “Be ready to evacuate.”
After back-to-back soggy winters in California, fire season has gotten off to somewhat slower start, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California, Los Angeles.
“These are not peak season fires either in scope or behavior, or in terms of where they’re burning,” Swain said in an online briefing. “In many ways, they’re classic, early-season fires since they’re primarily burning in grass and brush.”
Swain said he expects more fire activity to begin in July at lower elevations and August at higher elevations.
“And the bad news is that I think that the back half of this season is going to be much more active, with a lot more concerning level of wildfire activity in a lot of areas than the first half,” he said.
